


You think they're trying to kill me?

by widowshulk



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4066921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/widowshulk/pseuds/widowshulk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Natasha and Bruce have officially met, Fury sends her to check up on him. They both take one another completely by surprised when they hear the the first words the other says to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You think they're trying to kill me?

_Natasha_

“24 hours. Get in, get me a status update, get out,” Fury said over the phone.

“Copy that. Anything I need to be aware of?” Natasha asked, throwing the last few items in the bag.

“He had an incident a couple days back, he’ll be vulnerable and alert. Don’t let him know you’re on to him.”

“Copy that, sir.” Natasha went to her weapons drawer and grabbed an extra gun. You could never be too safe.

“I expect to hear from you when you touch down.”

With that the call ended and Natasha left her apartment for the S.H.I.E.L.D. airfield in the next town. Once she got on the jet, she read over Banner’s file for the hundredth time, trying to understand him better, trying to get in his head, but to no avail. She opted for a nap instead.

“We’re 15 minutes out, Agent Romanoff.” The voice from a level 3 agent woke her, and headed to the bathroom to get changed.

She stepped off the jet into sweltering hot weather, and felt herself sweating already. First stop: her hotel. She dropped off her bag and set up her base of operations. Looking around at the tiny room, she was glad it was a solo mission; it was far too hot to be sharing such a small space with another person.

Her intel told her that Banner would be volunteering at the local hospital for the next 40 minutes, so she grabbed some food before heading out. When she saw him leave, she could tell he was wary. He kept checking over his shoulders, walking hurriedly, never stopping for a moment. She was invisible to him, hiding in plain sight. Just another tourist taking in the surroundings. 

Banner ducked into a small restaurant and sat down at a table by the window. She waited out of sight for a few minutes before following him in. 

“Table for one?” she asked the server in a broken, and very American, version of the language.

The server guided her to a table near to Banner, but he didn’t take his eyes off the world outside.

Natasha pulled out her camera prop, and mimicked flicking through photographs. Laughing every now and again for effect. Banner placed his order quietly, careful not to attract any attention. When the server came to Natasha, she made a big show of touristy ignorance, asking about all the delicacies and what the restaurant’s best meal was. The server made a suggestion and Natasha heard a laugh from Banner’s table. 

“I wouldn’t order that if I were you,” Banner said, his eyes still outside.

“You think they’re trying to kill me?” Natasha asked with a laugh.

Those words, though. _I wouldn’t order that if I were you._ She would know those words anywhere. One of the perks of being powered was a little help from the clairvoyant-inclined. She made a mental note to check, knowing that there was no possible way for it to be true. Doctor Bruce Banner, the mad scientist, speaking those words. It couldn’t be. Natasha processed it all in mere seconds before deciding on an order, remembering that she had a cover to maintain.

\--

_Bruce_

For the first time in a month or so nobody had died on him while he was working. Not everyone was cured and healthy, but nobody had died. He probably didn’t deserve a celebration, but he decided to treat himself to a meal out tonight. He found his bag and left the hospital. After his incident last week, he had to be extra careful not to be caught by the authorities. He’d fled the country, and picked out a new identity, but still he knew they were probably going to be closing in on him any second and he couldn’t afford to be caught by surprise.

He walked fast, never stopping for a second, and took in everything all around him. He’d been in hiding for a while now and it always surprised him how good he was becoming at this way of life. He ducked into a restaurant sure that nobody was following and asked for a table by the window. This way he could see any potential threats. 

Moments passed and a woman sat down near him. He didn’t look at her, but took in her reflection and the noise she was making. An American tourist. Of course. Come to a less-developed nation to look at all the chaos and appreciate the comfortable life back at home. Bruce scolded himself mentally; he didn’t know the woman’s story. Her behaviour may have been that of a tourist, but he had no right to judge her or her choices.

He placed his order quietly without even checking a menu. He wanted to be as efficient as possible so that he could get out of here. The American woman was laughing to herself looking through photos and it was starting to grate on his nerves. He heard her ask what was good here, and heard the server suggest something truly disgusting. He laughed, knowing how much the locals loved to tease Americans. He did a silent, unmoving, double-take. He’d drawn attention to himself and he couldn’t leave it at that. It would be too suspicious.

“I wouldn’t order that if I were you,” he said, keeping his eyes away from her.

“You think they’re trying to kill me?” the woman asked with a laugh.

Bruce laughed a little, but not enough to invite further conversation. Now that he’d managed to get out of that situation he realised what she’d said. _You think they’re trying to kill me?_ He’d heard those words before a couple of months ago in the jungle. He frowned to himself, it must just be a coincidence. He was a man of science and he refused to believe in some nonsense that a strange voodoo woman had told him. It was meaningless. He kept telling himself that, somehow unable to actually convince himself that that was the truth.

\--

_Years later_

“That was you?” Bruce demanded. “That obnoxious American tourist who didn’t know what to order? That was you? Really?”

Natasha had just told him the story of how they first met; he’d expected to hear the story he knew to be true from her perspective, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen.

“Fury wanted a status update. You’d had a Code Green and S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to make sure you weren’t going to be a problem.”

“Why am I only just hearing about this now?” Bruce asked, not sure whether to be surprised or angry, after all he had known that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been monitoring him while he was on the run.

Natasha shrugged. “There wasn’t really a good time.”

Bruce laughed, realising how true that was. 

“Wait, that means… those words. The words you said. ‘You think they’re trying to kill me?’ Those words.”

“‘I wouldn’t order that if I were you.’ You knew about the words, too?”

“You knew about the words?” Bruce asked, and Natasha nodded. “I met a voodoo woman in the jungle. A couple months before we ‘met’. She said that I was going to be very vulnerable soon and that I was going to meet my soulmate. Then she told me those words. ‘You think they’re trying to kill me?’ I didn’t believe it, but I never forgot. How did you-?”

“There’s a clairvoyant that S.H.I.E.L.D. has dealings with. He tried to flirt with me once to get out of trouble. Told me he could tell me all about my soulmate. He told me those words. I didn’t really believe him either, but I couldn’t shake the thought. When I met you and you said them, I refused to believe. You were a mad scientist with an anger management problem. How could you be my soulmate?”

“Thanks,” Bruce laughed, feigning offence. 

“Like I was what you expected?” Natasha laughed, nudging him with her elbow.

“When you were just another dumb American tourist? How boring would that life have been?”

“Never a dull moment when you’re saving the world.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Bruce said, leaning down and kissing her hand.

“So soulmates? That seems messy,” Natasha said, trying to lighten the mood.

“You’re right, but it also makes sense to me now.”

“I’m glad it’s you,” she said grinning at him.


End file.
